The Extraction
by CosimasBun
Summary: "I would be careful playing for the other team Delphine; you never know what you'll find… What others will find." Delphine found something that shouldn't be found and mutual interests have aligned over her subject 324B21. Cophine.


The extraction

Delphine turned from her work rubbing the bridge of her nose in exhaustion. She let her hand trail a tired path over her cheek as she let her arm drop back down to the tidy clutter of her large desk. Delphine's body ached from the long hours hunched over the microscope. Her hand had cramped from her astute note taking on the findings through her microscope. The blonde glanced at her watch realizing the late hours and the excessive amount of over hours she had worked. But the hours were well worth it especially with the discoveries he had made as of late. What the blonde was working on, could break barriers far beyond any that this lifetime could provide. Though these particular discoveries had made her just a bit more paranoid than usual. Delphine's assignment to this project was to cure an unknown cloned subject, 324b21. The information she started with was minimal about her subject. The subject showed signs of respiratory distress, seizures and other varied symptoms. And Delphine had cracked open the root cause of it. Dangerous and intricate, it was a miss folded protein that destroyed other proteins in the epithelial tissue it came in contact with. The implications alone were mind boggling. Should anyone find out it, about her work... the implications for her for others, would not end well. But that was the least of her concerns. Her thoughts revolved around more on her aggravation over not being able to figure out a cure for the subject yet. She was so close with her stem cell line, but that was like a band aid to a bullet hole. She had been that letting her exhaustion, paranoia cloud her logical thinking. Though paranoia wasn't a mind's fear falsely intensified, when you worked at, rather for the DYAD.

Sighing the blonde begins to pack up her things, deciding to push aside her frustrations on this project. It might also put her troubled mind to ease. Delphine's standards for her work were always more severe than others. Though that may just come with the line of governmental work she does; x pushing herself to achieve higher and greater results far faster than the average person. Sighing as she lets her mind trail off to more menial thoughts, allowed Delphine's tired mind relax after the long tedious hours spent functioning at high levels. The French doctor didn't mind working the long hours; she preferred them to the sterile and often lonely apartment she was provided by the DYAD. The apartment was cold and hard as though it were meant to be looked at and not lived in. Though she did own a small brown cat, (she thought he might make the apartment feel less lonely and more like a place she wanted to live in rather than just sleep in) Sebastian, but he was just as elusive as she could be and preferred being left alone aside from an occasional scratch on the head. It often felt as though the small cat was her only friend in the world. Working on high level clearance government work, didn't leave much time for her to make friends. To be honest with herself, even when the blonde seemed to have acquaintances, her intellect and love for knowledge often cast them away from her friendship, as they could never understand her.

Making her way through the crisp whit halls of the DYAD, she began to notice the usual oddities of the institute. The French doctor also began to feel that feeling one gets in the back of their skull as if they are being followed. Delphine was extremely perceptive and almost overly observant; she attributed this trait to how quickly she had climbed ranks in her profession, aside from her strong intellect. Many of her fellow co-workers believed that it was because of her beauty that she rose through the ranks so quickly. The rumors were that many of her superiors had pushed her up the rungs of the ladder with the promise or act of promiscuity. Delphine often scoffed at the gossip of her jealous and overly intrusive coworkers. There was though a sense of unease the gossip created in her though when she interacted with her boss. An older man with thin white fuzz barely covering his shiny dome and a sharp look in his eyes that no matter how genial his face was at the moment it unsettled Delphine's stomach. He always lingered a little too long for her comfort when they spoke. Dr. Leekie. Freaky Leekie. Delphine giggled to herself at the secreted name around the institute, given to him the man for his superior involvement with the fringe science movements of neolution. It was strange kind of science that mixed eugenics with evolution. Delphine had considered most of this to be nothing but pop science a trend that would only wear out and trail off leaving its misbegotten followers behind. The blonde had heard a rumor that one of its followers had a tail, viable and real, like the ones our human bodies had shed millions of years ago. The thought of it made her stomach turn violently and her brain wracked with thoughts of the unseemly body modifications that people had made to their bodies, if the tales about the tailed man were true.

As she rounded the last corner on her way out of the DYAD Delphine's long willowy body collided with a tall sturdy frame. She let out a surprised squeak jumping back as her eyes connected with those of the mass that she had walked into. Large hazel eyes glanced into cold metallic blue eyes that raised the hairs on the back of her neck and arms. Quickly putting some distance between the two of them, Delphine made to apologize folding her arms over her chest.

"Dr. Leekie, please forgive me I was not looking-" Delphine started in apology, but was cut off with the wave of a hand.

"Delphine, how many times must I tell you to call me Aldous?" Leekie asked a demure smile on his thin lips an unsavory glint in his eyes. Delphine nods and continues her explanation.

"I apologize, sorry for bumping into you, I did not expect anyone to be here so late and I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking."Delphine states quickly nodding her head solemnly and making to walk off.

"Dr. Cormier before you leave I have been meaning to ask you, how is your research going with subject 324B21?" He asked almost disinterestedly, but his eyes were sharp and honed in upon Delphine's shocked face. She had been so careful to keep her research safe from any prying eyes covering up all her tracks in the labs and erasing any data from computer bases, she kept hand written accounts of everything which were tucked safely into her bag that was resting innocently at her hip. 324B21 was her responsibility and the science would remain hers until she found a cure.

"You seem surprised Delphine, but as to what I am not sure…" Leekie probed his eye brow arched, cocky smirk settled on his lips. At this Delphine bristled a bit, the constant gloating of this man annoyed her. He thought he himself to be a god of science and that it would bend to his will. This irked her thoughts; no one could bend science to their will, not even a higher power. Science was science. In her mind God itself. Squaring her shoulders and looking him dead in the eye.

"Nothing has changed and there is no breakthrough so to speak. Good night, Dr. Leekie. I am sorry again for bumping into you." Delphine said as she steadily walked off jaw clenched fist tightened around the strap of her bag. She heard Leekie's last retort.

"I would be careful playing for the other team Delphine; you never know what you'll find… What others will find." Stopping dead in her tracks at the words that bounced of the cold walls and settling in her ears.

 _ **XXXXXXX**_

The blonde's steps were rushed upon the pavement a strong sense of discomfort rested in her stomach and mind, like a sickness growing. The tingling at the back of her skull from earlier had resumed. Using slight turns of her head and eyes Delphine was able to spot the figure following her as she walked the cold dark streets. The doctor's heart picked up sounding in her ears as she quickened her steady pace towards home. Leekie's words were playing like a broken record in her mind. "… _What others will find._ "

"Delphine you will drive yourself crazy." She muttered to herself as the cold wind nipped at her back. Keeping her head forward she could still feel the person in the shadows a small distance off. A large sigh of relief leaving her lips as her building came into view, she scrambled quickly to the front doors unlocking them and slipping inside. Her hands burning from the temperature change, rubbing them together she ascended the elevator to one of the low middle floors. Delphine approached her door as though it were her salvation. She unlocked the door surprised to find Sebastian there waiting for her, rubbing against her legs as soon as she had made it through the doorway. He was meowing frantically.

"Allo Sebastian" Delphine cooed sweetly as the cat circled her feet rubbing his head against her in an unfamiliar affectionate gesture.

"Mon n'êtes-vous pas affectueux ce soir! Avez-vous me manquez peu cher?" she patted him, straightening out her legs and groping the wall for the light switch, her blind fingers found the familiar device and flicked it on. She turned to face the open room as she shed her coat and tossed her keys.

Her blood ran cold as she caught sight of the unfamiliar middle aged woman perched on her couch calmly with her legs crossed. There was a small brunette woman standing behind the unfamiliar woman. She was in a leather jacket arms crossed over her chest. Delphine froze terrified that her paranoia had become real.

"Hello chicken," the woman spoke through a thick British accent her bright blue eyes smiling kindly at the surprised and frightened face before her. "There is no need to be frightened; I am here for the right purposes though it may not seem like it now." She continued "I'm Mrs. S and this here is Sarah."

"You see love our mutual interests are aligned and you really must be more careful with what you run through those DYAD labs dear." Mrs. S conversed amiably as though she and Delphine had been friends for ages.

"Quoi?" Delphine trembled, her mind in a complete array of panic her body still with shock of this woman in front of her. The petite brunette scoffed earning a sharp look from her older companion.

"324B21, right?" Mrs. S says. The blonde's mouth flops open in shock. That information was confidential, she had only gotten that knowledge because Leekie was so interested in her. "I have my ways love. I am also trying to keep you out of reach from worse people" She spoke knowingly. Then there was suddenly a curt wrap against the front door as if on cue.

"And Speak of the devil, we will discuss this later, but now we need to go." The woman says standing up to her full height as Sarah comes around the couch to grab the still stunned and unmoving Delphine. Clearly annoyed at her silence and inability to move Sarah makes the decision to move the blonde herself.

"Oi blondie, unless you wanna be in a bloody casket by morning we need to go. Now." She orders, pulling her through the apartment to the bedroom where Mrs. S was waiting out on the fire escape.

Delphine was roughly pushed through the fire escape, as this happens her brain kicks into motion and she is more afraid of what is waiting for her on the other side of her door. As her body is ushered quickly down the stairs she slips twice upon the icy steps eliciting concerned looks from Mrs. S and her body being yanked up again by Sarah. When they reach the ground a small black car pulls up next to them. Mrs. S rips the door open gently pushing Delphine down into the car as she and Sarah piled into the car behind her. Jostling around in a mess of arms and legs and the occasional grunt, until the French scientist was perched between them. Delphine petrified and confused looked up into the eyes of a woman identical to Sarah as her heart lodged itself into her throat.

"Hi I'm Cosima," the small bird like girl waved with a toothy smile "or should I say 324B21."


End file.
